September 29
It was a difficult weekend for Vassar soccer, and after only two games we’ve left ourselves in a tough position to qualify for both the Liberty League playoffs and the ECAC championships should we fall short of the Liberty League title. Union is always a difficult opponent, but we’ve performed well against them in recent years. On Friday, we fought hard on a wet turf field, but fell behind 1-0 on a breakaway goal for Union. The big blow came with 30 seconds left in the half, as nobody picked up after a goal kick and Union grabbed a last-second goal to double their lead going into the break. While we attacked for most of the second half, we were unable to find a response and fell 2-0 in our league opener. Despite us getting to halftime against Skidmore with no score, the outcome was similar; we weren’t outplayed but two breakdowns at the back allowed Skidmore to take a 2-0 lead. A late goal by Brian Bianchetti was no consolation as we fell to 0-2 in the league and already 3 points out of the playoff places.
Of course, the season is far from over, and with our last five league games at home there is still time to turn things around. My sophomore year we started 0-3 in the league before two straight victories sent us into the final weekend with a chance to make the playoffs- we were eliminated with a 2-0 loss at home to St. Lawrence but it was a hard-fought game and the result could have gone either way. There has been a lot of discussion amongst the players this weekend and as upset as everyone is we all realize that we can’t give up- we need to push ourselves a little harder both in training and in matches. We’ll have a hard week of practice before Saturday’s game against Green Mountain. This will hopefully keep us in match shape for October 10th, when we resume our Liberty League campaign with a game against Clarkson that is surely a must-win after last weekend’s performance.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Friday, September 26, 2008
Liberty League Opening Weekend
September 25
This weekend we head to Union and Skidmore for our first Liberty League weekend. In my three previous seasons at Vassar, we’ve only managed a total of three points from our opening League weekend, and the big holes we’ve put ourselves in can explain why we’ve missed the playoffs each of these years. This season, we have a better and deeper squad, so we need to get off to a better start and pick up points this weekend. We tied both of these teams last year so they should be good games.
An away weekend is quite an experience for college athletes, especially coming from high school (I think I only played one game in high school that was more than an hour away). After our Union game on Friday, we’ll head to a hotel for the night. The next morning, we have a team breakfast (the free food all weekend is one of the best parts of the trip for the players), and we’ll watch some game tape from Friday’s match, as well as do a short warm-up jog and stretch to keep everybody loose for the second game. It can be good to get away from campus for two days- it keeps everyone focused 100 percent on the games, and allows for some time to get homework done, but its still fun to be in a hotel with all of your teammates. This is our only away weekend of the season, and a much shorter trip than last year, when we went to both Clarkson/St. Lawrence and Hamilton/Hobart. It can be a very long weekend on the field though, as several times we’ve had both games in the same weekend go into overtime (including last year against these two teams). This can mean 220 minutes of soccer in barely more than 24 hours, and usually a few starters end up playing every one of those minutes.
This weekend we head to Union and Skidmore for our first Liberty League weekend. In my three previous seasons at Vassar, we’ve only managed a total of three points from our opening League weekend, and the big holes we’ve put ourselves in can explain why we’ve missed the playoffs each of these years. This season, we have a better and deeper squad, so we need to get off to a better start and pick up points this weekend. We tied both of these teams last year so they should be good games.
An away weekend is quite an experience for college athletes, especially coming from high school (I think I only played one game in high school that was more than an hour away). After our Union game on Friday, we’ll head to a hotel for the night. The next morning, we have a team breakfast (the free food all weekend is one of the best parts of the trip for the players), and we’ll watch some game tape from Friday’s match, as well as do a short warm-up jog and stretch to keep everybody loose for the second game. It can be good to get away from campus for two days- it keeps everyone focused 100 percent on the games, and allows for some time to get homework done, but its still fun to be in a hotel with all of your teammates. This is our only away weekend of the season, and a much shorter trip than last year, when we went to both Clarkson/St. Lawrence and Hamilton/Hobart. It can be a very long weekend on the field though, as several times we’ve had both games in the same weekend go into overtime (including last year against these two teams). This can mean 220 minutes of soccer in barely more than 24 hours, and usually a few starters end up playing every one of those minutes.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Dedicating Prentiss
On Saturday morning Vassar held a dedication for our new Prentiss Field Complex, which was completed last spring. I remember my first two years here, where we played on a mediocre game field surrounded by an inexact concrete oval that served as our track. We also had a practice field that became hard as cement later in the season (not great for goalkeeper drills), and our baseball team had a field that consisted of nothing more than a backstop and an infield. Our track team even had to go off campus for workouts. In the spring of my sophomore year they moved the soccer teams over to the field hockey/lacrosse fields on the other side of the road- these are actually in pretty good shape, but they couldn’t compete with some of the institutions we play against.
Fast forward two years and the difference is amazing. The new complex has a turf field with lights and a brand new soccer field, both of which have permanent bleachers and press boxes (something we didn’t have on our old fields). We also have a brand new 8-lane track and a new baseball field with fence and in-ground dugouts. The quality of grass on our game field is incredible, probably the best I’ve played on. There is also a second grass soccer field which is in great shape as well, and it gives our soccer teams five fields to choose from for training (we can go on the turf in bad weather or to prepare for a game on turf, and we can go on the old fields if we don’t want our practice to tear up the new fields too much). Another great feature is the box nets on our game field, similar to what you would see on television for a Premier League or Champions League game. I think any prospective student who plays up front should come here just for the chance to score goals in these nets.
For the dedication on Saturday, the teams got a catered breakfast before our games (field hockey and women’s soccer were at home and we went on the road to Drew). While we didn’t stay for the speeches because we had to get to our game, we did go out on the fields with some of the alumni who helped to finance the complex, including Jim Citrin ’81 after whom the new bleachers are named. They also christened the “Jennings Bench”, named after our long-time coach Andy Jennings. It may not line up completely straight with the field but he really seemed to like it. While I wish I could have had more than one season on these fields, they truly are amazing and should help our program immensely in the future, especially with recruiting.
Fast forward two years and the difference is amazing. The new complex has a turf field with lights and a brand new soccer field, both of which have permanent bleachers and press boxes (something we didn’t have on our old fields). We also have a brand new 8-lane track and a new baseball field with fence and in-ground dugouts. The quality of grass on our game field is incredible, probably the best I’ve played on. There is also a second grass soccer field which is in great shape as well, and it gives our soccer teams five fields to choose from for training (we can go on the turf in bad weather or to prepare for a game on turf, and we can go on the old fields if we don’t want our practice to tear up the new fields too much). Another great feature is the box nets on our game field, similar to what you would see on television for a Premier League or Champions League game. I think any prospective student who plays up front should come here just for the chance to score goals in these nets.
For the dedication on Saturday, the teams got a catered breakfast before our games (field hockey and women’s soccer were at home and we went on the road to Drew). While we didn’t stay for the speeches because we had to get to our game, we did go out on the fields with some of the alumni who helped to finance the complex, including Jim Citrin ’81 after whom the new bleachers are named. They also christened the “Jennings Bench”, named after our long-time coach Andy Jennings. It may not line up completely straight with the field but he really seemed to like it. While I wish I could have had more than one season on these fields, they truly are amazing and should help our program immensely in the future, especially with recruiting.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Bring on the Liberty League
September 22
Vassar split a pair of games this weekend, losing 2-0 to Drew on Saturday followed by a 6-0 victory over Medgar Evers on Sunday. The performance against Drew was frustrating due to our complete inability to create any offense, and we were eventually out-shot 21-2. We also conceded another early goal, a tendency that has plagued us a bit over the past few years. We responded on Sunday with three goals in the first 4:35 of our game against Medgar Evers, a team we only defeated by one goal last season.
On Friday and Saturday we begin our Liberty League campaign with road games against Union and Skidmore. While our non-league games may eventually prove crucial in selection for either the ECAC or NCAA postseason tournaments, the seven Liberty League contests are the games that will determine whether our season is a success or a failure. We’ve never made the Liberty League playoffs in my time here, but this is an improved team and we’re all excited for another chance this season. Everyone on the squad has been working incredibly hard in practice for these games, but the seniors have worked four years for a chance at the playoffs and until you reach that point I don’t think it really hits you how important it is. As an underclassman there is always next year, but having reached our final opportunity I really understand what this weekend’s games mean. We have a .500 record against these two teams over the last two years, so both games should be battles.
Vassar split a pair of games this weekend, losing 2-0 to Drew on Saturday followed by a 6-0 victory over Medgar Evers on Sunday. The performance against Drew was frustrating due to our complete inability to create any offense, and we were eventually out-shot 21-2. We also conceded another early goal, a tendency that has plagued us a bit over the past few years. We responded on Sunday with three goals in the first 4:35 of our game against Medgar Evers, a team we only defeated by one goal last season.
On Friday and Saturday we begin our Liberty League campaign with road games against Union and Skidmore. While our non-league games may eventually prove crucial in selection for either the ECAC or NCAA postseason tournaments, the seven Liberty League contests are the games that will determine whether our season is a success or a failure. We’ve never made the Liberty League playoffs in my time here, but this is an improved team and we’re all excited for another chance this season. Everyone on the squad has been working incredibly hard in practice for these games, but the seniors have worked four years for a chance at the playoffs and until you reach that point I don’t think it really hits you how important it is. As an underclassman there is always next year, but having reached our final opportunity I really understand what this weekend’s games mean. We have a .500 record against these two teams over the last two years, so both games should be battles.
Friday, September 19, 2008
A Tale of Two Halves
September 18
It was a tale of two halves for Vassar on Wednesday as we faced off against Stevens Tech- one of the top teams in the country. They were ranked fifth in the country before a loss to Swarthmore and a close win over New Paltz dropped them to #15, but there was no question as to their talent level. If we ever needed to come out ready to play, it was for this game, and unfortunately we weren’t quite able to do that. Unlike some of the other top teams in the country that we’ve played like Middlebury and Williams, who will tend start with lower pressure and focus on passing the ball around and building up their attack, Stevens has always come out flying from the start. This means that if you aren’t 100 percent focused defensively against them, you will get blown out, as evidenced by our 6-0 loss to them last season.
While I don’t think our early performance was particularly bad, I also don’t think we were as focused and intense as we are capable of it, and we paid for it by doing the one thing we really did not want to do- allowing an early goal six minutes in the game. A couple defensive breakdowns led to two more Stevens goals and we found ourselves down 3-0 at halftime and in danger of completely losing control of the game.
I didn’t hear what was said at halftime as I was helping to warm up another goalkeeper, but there’s no question that our team realized that they had a little more inside of them and committed to performing better in the second half. Sure enough, instead of falling apart in the second period, we fought back and played Stevens much more evenly, keeping the 3-0 intact. Several substitutes came on and made a difference with their work ethic and tackling, and the overall attitude in the second half was fantastic. It was definitely a lesson learned for us, as we will not be able to afford another soft start like we had on Wednesday. However, we showed a lot of character in the second half and were able to leave on more of a positive note. Also, our improved depth this season is showing, as several players who weren’t in the starting lineup put in outstanding performances in the second half, which will undoubtedly leave some tough decisions for our coaching staff this weekend, but this can only be a good thing for us as we go forward this season. We have another tough game on Saturday against Drew, currently 4-1-1 on the season.
It was a tale of two halves for Vassar on Wednesday as we faced off against Stevens Tech- one of the top teams in the country. They were ranked fifth in the country before a loss to Swarthmore and a close win over New Paltz dropped them to #15, but there was no question as to their talent level. If we ever needed to come out ready to play, it was for this game, and unfortunately we weren’t quite able to do that. Unlike some of the other top teams in the country that we’ve played like Middlebury and Williams, who will tend start with lower pressure and focus on passing the ball around and building up their attack, Stevens has always come out flying from the start. This means that if you aren’t 100 percent focused defensively against them, you will get blown out, as evidenced by our 6-0 loss to them last season.
While I don’t think our early performance was particularly bad, I also don’t think we were as focused and intense as we are capable of it, and we paid for it by doing the one thing we really did not want to do- allowing an early goal six minutes in the game. A couple defensive breakdowns led to two more Stevens goals and we found ourselves down 3-0 at halftime and in danger of completely losing control of the game.
I didn’t hear what was said at halftime as I was helping to warm up another goalkeeper, but there’s no question that our team realized that they had a little more inside of them and committed to performing better in the second half. Sure enough, instead of falling apart in the second period, we fought back and played Stevens much more evenly, keeping the 3-0 intact. Several substitutes came on and made a difference with their work ethic and tackling, and the overall attitude in the second half was fantastic. It was definitely a lesson learned for us, as we will not be able to afford another soft start like we had on Wednesday. However, we showed a lot of character in the second half and were able to leave on more of a positive note. Also, our improved depth this season is showing, as several players who weren’t in the starting lineup put in outstanding performances in the second half, which will undoubtedly leave some tough decisions for our coaching staff this weekend, but this can only be a good thing for us as we go forward this season. We have another tough game on Saturday against Drew, currently 4-1-1 on the season.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Robb Rolfing: An Inspiration
September 14
Before our home opener against Alfred on Saturday, Coach Jennings focused our pre-game talk on a former Vassar soccer player that no one on the team has met, but whose story the returning players got to know last fall- the Class of 2000’s Robb Rolfing.
If you look around the Vassar Athletics website, you’ll see Robb is our second all-time leading scorer in both goals and points, and recorded two of the five highest-scoring seasons in Vassar history when he tallied 15 goals in 1998 and 13 more in 1999. He also scored both goals, including the overtime winner, in Vassar’s first-ever NCAA tournament game victory (a 2-1 win over Cabrini College). As we found out before last season, Robb died on June 30, 2007, while fighting in Iraq. Our team had a ceremony for him before our second-to-last home Liberty League game against Union last year, and his parents came all the way from South Dakota for it. While we had all but been eliminated from the playoff race, we responded with what may have been the best performance of my career at Vassar. We were unlucky not to score, but we managed a 0-0 tie against a strong Union team who also brought their best on that day. While we’ve probably managed better results, the standard of play on both sides was as good as I’ve ever seen at the Division 3 level.
As the freshmen have not heard Robb’s story yet, Coach Jennings took the opportunity to tell his story to the team again and to show the freshmen some pictures of Robb in action for Vassar. It is clear when Coach Jennings or any other member of the Vassar community talks about Robb just how much of an impression he made on them when he was here. While his impressive goal totals say something about his success for the Brewers, he’s been described as one of the most dedicated, hard-working and team-oriented players to ever suit up for Vassar, regardless of statistics. Hopefully his story will give our team a little extra motivation this season as we try to accomplish what no Vassar soccer team has ever done without Robb- qualify for the NCAA tournament.
Before our home opener against Alfred on Saturday, Coach Jennings focused our pre-game talk on a former Vassar soccer player that no one on the team has met, but whose story the returning players got to know last fall- the Class of 2000’s Robb Rolfing.
If you look around the Vassar Athletics website, you’ll see Robb is our second all-time leading scorer in both goals and points, and recorded two of the five highest-scoring seasons in Vassar history when he tallied 15 goals in 1998 and 13 more in 1999. He also scored both goals, including the overtime winner, in Vassar’s first-ever NCAA tournament game victory (a 2-1 win over Cabrini College). As we found out before last season, Robb died on June 30, 2007, while fighting in Iraq. Our team had a ceremony for him before our second-to-last home Liberty League game against Union last year, and his parents came all the way from South Dakota for it. While we had all but been eliminated from the playoff race, we responded with what may have been the best performance of my career at Vassar. We were unlucky not to score, but we managed a 0-0 tie against a strong Union team who also brought their best on that day. While we’ve probably managed better results, the standard of play on both sides was as good as I’ve ever seen at the Division 3 level.
As the freshmen have not heard Robb’s story yet, Coach Jennings took the opportunity to tell his story to the team again and to show the freshmen some pictures of Robb in action for Vassar. It is clear when Coach Jennings or any other member of the Vassar community talks about Robb just how much of an impression he made on them when he was here. While his impressive goal totals say something about his success for the Brewers, he’s been described as one of the most dedicated, hard-working and team-oriented players to ever suit up for Vassar, regardless of statistics. Hopefully his story will give our team a little extra motivation this season as we try to accomplish what no Vassar soccer team has ever done without Robb- qualify for the NCAA tournament.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Protecting the Home Turf
September 13
What a difference three days can make. For as much as we struggled with our finishing and our composure against Mt. St. Mary’s, you could forgive a Vassar fan for thinking that our home opener today against Alfred (who we only beat by one goal last season) would be a close game. While I had seen a lot of positive things out of our team in practice this week, I did not expect to see the scoreline that we produced: 8-0, the most lopsided victory of my Vassar career.
Today’s game also continued an impressive streak we have- our last regular-season loss at home was October 25, 2006 (a shocking overtime defeat to 10-man New Paltz). That statistic will certainly be put to the test on Wednesday against Stevens Tech, one of the best teams in the country. Still, with 8 of our remaining 13 games in Poughkeepsie this season, it is a good sign that we have been so successful on our home turf.
Our whole team looked great today, especially at the offensive end, which has been one of our biggest question marks. Everything was clicking for us on the attack; difficult passes and through balls were finding their targets, players were beating defenders one-on-one, and there were some great finishes as well. Jon Hootnick scored for the second straight game, Alex Freund tallied 3 goals and 2 assists, and center-back Matt Pavlich even added a goal on a late penalty. Up 4-0 at halftime, our two main goals were to keep our shutout and to not let our intensity drop in the second period like we did on Wednesday. I’d say we accomplished both goals without question. We get a much-deserved day off on Sunday, but then we’ll need to train hard in preparation for three games next week, including a match-up with Stevens, currently ranked fifth in the country.
What a difference three days can make. For as much as we struggled with our finishing and our composure against Mt. St. Mary’s, you could forgive a Vassar fan for thinking that our home opener today against Alfred (who we only beat by one goal last season) would be a close game. While I had seen a lot of positive things out of our team in practice this week, I did not expect to see the scoreline that we produced: 8-0, the most lopsided victory of my Vassar career.
Today’s game also continued an impressive streak we have- our last regular-season loss at home was October 25, 2006 (a shocking overtime defeat to 10-man New Paltz). That statistic will certainly be put to the test on Wednesday against Stevens Tech, one of the best teams in the country. Still, with 8 of our remaining 13 games in Poughkeepsie this season, it is a good sign that we have been so successful on our home turf.
Our whole team looked great today, especially at the offensive end, which has been one of our biggest question marks. Everything was clicking for us on the attack; difficult passes and through balls were finding their targets, players were beating defenders one-on-one, and there were some great finishes as well. Jon Hootnick scored for the second straight game, Alex Freund tallied 3 goals and 2 assists, and center-back Matt Pavlich even added a goal on a late penalty. Up 4-0 at halftime, our two main goals were to keep our shutout and to not let our intensity drop in the second period like we did on Wednesday. I’d say we accomplished both goals without question. We get a much-deserved day off on Sunday, but then we’ll need to train hard in preparation for three games next week, including a match-up with Stevens, currently ranked fifth in the country.
Friday, September 12, 2008
The Long-Awaited Season Opener
September 10, 2008
Wednesday was the day we were all waiting for, although we had to wait an extra 21 hours for it to come: our first regular season game of 2008. We were supposed to play Tuesday night but the game was rained out and rescheduled for Wednesday. Our opponents were Mt. St. Mary’s, a team that we’ve beaten every year I’ve been at Vassar, but who gave us a very tough game last fall.
Mt. St. Mary’s is a pretty fun place to play, it’s a small but scenic campus, and the crowd of students is always few in number but pretty lively. The field wasn’t perfect, and the long grass gave us some trouble early on. The last-minute cancellation had forced us to practice on the turf Tuesday night in pouring rain, which meant that balls that were skipping right off the field the night before were barely reaching their intended targets on Wednesday. There were a few tense moments in the first half when our defenders gave away passes in the tall grass, but overall we were solid in the back. Outside of this, we had very little trouble in the first half, though we should have scored more than we did. A Jon Hootnick finish with 10 minutes to go was all we were able to manage, and the 1-0 lead probably didn’t reflect how much we had controlled the half.
The second half was a different story however. We were unable to get another goal to put the game away, and for some reason we began to fall apart late. Mt. St. Mary’s had a goal disallowed for offsides with about 15 minutes to go, though we also had more than a few chances killed by offsides calls. Then in a moment that nearly gave everyone on the bench a heart attack, a Mt. St. Mary shot appeared to be going in to an empty net with 48 seconds left to play before Chris Nieminski sprinted back to the line and was able to head the ball away, saving us from an overtime period we never thought would be necessary.
Overall, there are positives and negatives to take from our first game. We got away with a win, which is the most important thing. We also looked very composed in the first half, and there were several individual players who really stood out with good performances. On the other hand, we need to do a better job of finishing, and we need to avoid some of the mistakes we made later on in the game. We’ll have a better idea of where we are as a team when we take on Alfred on Saturday, another team that we beat last season by just one goal.
Wednesday was the day we were all waiting for, although we had to wait an extra 21 hours for it to come: our first regular season game of 2008. We were supposed to play Tuesday night but the game was rained out and rescheduled for Wednesday. Our opponents were Mt. St. Mary’s, a team that we’ve beaten every year I’ve been at Vassar, but who gave us a very tough game last fall.
Mt. St. Mary’s is a pretty fun place to play, it’s a small but scenic campus, and the crowd of students is always few in number but pretty lively. The field wasn’t perfect, and the long grass gave us some trouble early on. The last-minute cancellation had forced us to practice on the turf Tuesday night in pouring rain, which meant that balls that were skipping right off the field the night before were barely reaching their intended targets on Wednesday. There were a few tense moments in the first half when our defenders gave away passes in the tall grass, but overall we were solid in the back. Outside of this, we had very little trouble in the first half, though we should have scored more than we did. A Jon Hootnick finish with 10 minutes to go was all we were able to manage, and the 1-0 lead probably didn’t reflect how much we had controlled the half.
The second half was a different story however. We were unable to get another goal to put the game away, and for some reason we began to fall apart late. Mt. St. Mary’s had a goal disallowed for offsides with about 15 minutes to go, though we also had more than a few chances killed by offsides calls. Then in a moment that nearly gave everyone on the bench a heart attack, a Mt. St. Mary shot appeared to be going in to an empty net with 48 seconds left to play before Chris Nieminski sprinted back to the line and was able to head the ball away, saving us from an overtime period we never thought would be necessary.
Overall, there are positives and negatives to take from our first game. We got away with a win, which is the most important thing. We also looked very composed in the first half, and there were several individual players who really stood out with good performances. On the other hand, we need to do a better job of finishing, and we need to avoid some of the mistakes we made later on in the game. We’ll have a better idea of where we are as a team when we take on Alfred on Saturday, another team that we beat last season by just one goal.
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
The Final Roster, Opening Day Approaches
Saturday, September 6th:
Tonight Coach Jennings announced our final roster, which was certainly a relief for some players as everyone can now focus on the coming season. It was quite difficult this year, with two seniors being let go and five former players overall not making it through tryouts. But while the coaches had to make some very tough decisions, we will hopefully be stronger for it, and I know our team is deeper than it has ever been. This year we have 7 seniors, 7 juniors, 6 sophomores, and 9 freshmen.
We have a bit of a family connection this season with freshmen Harrison Freund (junior Alex Freund’s brother) and Eli London (junior Jake London’s cousin) joining the team. It’s good to see some of our older players having a positive influence on recruiting and helping us to bring in some players who should contribute on the attacking end in the coming four years.
The regular season starts Tuesday as we travel to Mt. St. Mary’s, a team that didn’t give us too much trouble my first two seasons, but who pushed us to the brink last year when a 90th-minute winner by Ben Fox gave us a 2-1 victory. They’ve improved every year so we need to be ready to go Tuesday night.
Tonight Coach Jennings announced our final roster, which was certainly a relief for some players as everyone can now focus on the coming season. It was quite difficult this year, with two seniors being let go and five former players overall not making it through tryouts. But while the coaches had to make some very tough decisions, we will hopefully be stronger for it, and I know our team is deeper than it has ever been. This year we have 7 seniors, 7 juniors, 6 sophomores, and 9 freshmen.
We have a bit of a family connection this season with freshmen Harrison Freund (junior Alex Freund’s brother) and Eli London (junior Jake London’s cousin) joining the team. It’s good to see some of our older players having a positive influence on recruiting and helping us to bring in some players who should contribute on the attacking end in the coming four years.
The regular season starts Tuesday as we travel to Mt. St. Mary’s, a team that didn’t give us too much trouble my first two seasons, but who pushed us to the brink last year when a 90th-minute winner by Ben Fox gave us a 2-1 victory. They’ve improved every year so we need to be ready to go Tuesday night.
A Promising Start
Sunday August 31st:
Today we had our first preseason games of the year- always an exciting moment for all the players. Vassar began its 2008 campaign with the toughest opponent we could face off against, the 2007 National Champion Middlebury Panthers. We actually played Middlebury in preseason last year and tied 2-2 (and we were denied a late winner when we hit the post in the final minutes), giving us the opportunity to tell people back home that we tied the national champs. However, Middlebury played a lot of subs in that game, and it was the second game of the day for both squads. This would be the first game of the preseason for both teams and we were expecting to see Middlebury’s starters, at least in the first half. As Coach Jennings kept pointing out to us, this was Middlebury’s first match since the National Championship game in Florida last fall.
The first half went extremely well for us and though we didn’t have too many good chances, we also gave Middlebury very little, and the score was 0-0 at halftime. Both teams put in substitutes after halftime, and I went in goal for the beginning of the second half. I was a bit worried about how composed our new players would be in their first taste of college action, but I shouldn’t have been. Given the circumstances, I thought everyone met or exceeded expectations, and we continued to play the defending national champs equally, even going on the attack a few times (only to have a few offsides calls ruin our best possession). However, Middlebury finally broke through with about 25 minutes to play. It was an unlikely goal for us, and it was frustrating given how composed we had been all game. A cross came into the 6-yard box to a Middlebury player making a run at the near post. I had to stay in my goal as it appeared he would get a touch on the ball, but somehow he completely missed and it went through to an unmarked Middlebury player at the back post for an easy tap-in. There was little for either side late in the game, and Middlebury escaped with a 1-0 victory.
I was extremely pleased with everyone’s effort in the Middlebury game, and I am very excited for the season as everyone agrees that if we play like we did against the defending champs then we will have a decent chance against any team in the Liberty League.
We were much less successful in our second game, as we seemed to be worn out from the great effort against Middlebury. Everyone looked a bit flat, and there wasn’t the same amount of communication, movement or general energy. Williams scored twice in the first half and added two more in the second for a 4-0 lead. The bright spot for us came late, as a perfect cross from the right side set up our lone goal, making the final score 4-1.
Overall, it was a good day with positive performances from a lot of players, both in the starting lineup and farther down the bench. The new field was incredible as well, with perfect grass, nice bleachers, and professional-style box nets that make every goal look awesome (good motivation for us to score a lot this season!). We have a lot of work to do before our opening game against Mt. St. Mary’s a week from Tuesday, but I feel we are further along than we ever have been at this point in my previous three seasons.
Today we had our first preseason games of the year- always an exciting moment for all the players. Vassar began its 2008 campaign with the toughest opponent we could face off against, the 2007 National Champion Middlebury Panthers. We actually played Middlebury in preseason last year and tied 2-2 (and we were denied a late winner when we hit the post in the final minutes), giving us the opportunity to tell people back home that we tied the national champs. However, Middlebury played a lot of subs in that game, and it was the second game of the day for both squads. This would be the first game of the preseason for both teams and we were expecting to see Middlebury’s starters, at least in the first half. As Coach Jennings kept pointing out to us, this was Middlebury’s first match since the National Championship game in Florida last fall.
The first half went extremely well for us and though we didn’t have too many good chances, we also gave Middlebury very little, and the score was 0-0 at halftime. Both teams put in substitutes after halftime, and I went in goal for the beginning of the second half. I was a bit worried about how composed our new players would be in their first taste of college action, but I shouldn’t have been. Given the circumstances, I thought everyone met or exceeded expectations, and we continued to play the defending national champs equally, even going on the attack a few times (only to have a few offsides calls ruin our best possession). However, Middlebury finally broke through with about 25 minutes to play. It was an unlikely goal for us, and it was frustrating given how composed we had been all game. A cross came into the 6-yard box to a Middlebury player making a run at the near post. I had to stay in my goal as it appeared he would get a touch on the ball, but somehow he completely missed and it went through to an unmarked Middlebury player at the back post for an easy tap-in. There was little for either side late in the game, and Middlebury escaped with a 1-0 victory.
I was extremely pleased with everyone’s effort in the Middlebury game, and I am very excited for the season as everyone agrees that if we play like we did against the defending champs then we will have a decent chance against any team in the Liberty League.
We were much less successful in our second game, as we seemed to be worn out from the great effort against Middlebury. Everyone looked a bit flat, and there wasn’t the same amount of communication, movement or general energy. Williams scored twice in the first half and added two more in the second for a 4-0 lead. The bright spot for us came late, as a perfect cross from the right side set up our lone goal, making the final score 4-1.
Overall, it was a good day with positive performances from a lot of players, both in the starting lineup and farther down the bench. The new field was incredible as well, with perfect grass, nice bleachers, and professional-style box nets that make every goal look awesome (good motivation for us to score a lot this season!). We have a lot of work to do before our opening game against Mt. St. Mary’s a week from Tuesday, but I feel we are further along than we ever have been at this point in my previous three seasons.
Gearing Up To Face National Champs
Friday August 29th:
After a two-mile race to shock everyone back into preseason, we had the rest of our fitness testing yesterday, a mix of endurance and strength testing. Players who do not meet the sliding scale for the running tests in addition to achieving a satisfactory performance in the weight room are sent to the dreaded “Breakfast Club”- the purgatory of Vassar Soccer preseason- a series of early-morning fitness sessions before the day’s first practice.
After a tough morning, our afternoon session was less strenuous, as we began to really focus on our preseason games with Williams and Middlebury on Sunday. Both teams have won national championships, with Williams winning in 1995 and Middlebury grabbing their first national title last fall with a surprise upset over Trinity of Texas. We haven’t had much time to compare for such a difficult test, so our practice today was mostly designed to prepare us for how we were going to play come game day. Coach Jennings started by using cones to give us a demonstration on how he wanted us to position ourselves and move the ball around, and we gradually built up to an 11-on-11 walkthrough and then a full-speed scrimmage. Even though we lost a four-time All-Liberty League center-back in Ben Fox, we have a lot of experienced defenders coming back and I’m confident we can be a very tough defensive side with the players we have.
After a two-mile race to shock everyone back into preseason, we had the rest of our fitness testing yesterday, a mix of endurance and strength testing. Players who do not meet the sliding scale for the running tests in addition to achieving a satisfactory performance in the weight room are sent to the dreaded “Breakfast Club”- the purgatory of Vassar Soccer preseason- a series of early-morning fitness sessions before the day’s first practice.
After a tough morning, our afternoon session was less strenuous, as we began to really focus on our preseason games with Williams and Middlebury on Sunday. Both teams have won national championships, with Williams winning in 1995 and Middlebury grabbing their first national title last fall with a surprise upset over Trinity of Texas. We haven’t had much time to compare for such a difficult test, so our practice today was mostly designed to prepare us for how we were going to play come game day. Coach Jennings started by using cones to give us a demonstration on how he wanted us to position ourselves and move the ball around, and we gradually built up to an 11-on-11 walkthrough and then a full-speed scrimmage. Even though we lost a four-time All-Liberty League center-back in Ben Fox, we have a lot of experienced defenders coming back and I’m confident we can be a very tough defensive side with the players we have.
First Day, Final Season
Wednesday August 27th:
My name is Jimmy McCumber, and I am a senior goalkeeper on the Vassar Men’s Soccer team. This season, my last for the Brewers, I’ll be blogging about my team for our athletics website. First, a quick introduction of our team: we play in the Liberty League along with Union, Hobart, Hamilton, St. Lawrence, Clarkson, Skidmore, and Rensselaer. This is an extremely tough conference, with no weak teams and no easy games, no matter what the year. Last season was the first winning season of my college career, as we finished 7-5-3 overall. However, we again fell short of a top-four league finish and a spot in the playoffs, and were kept out of postseason play completely by the ECAC selection committee. This year we have a brand-new field complex which (though it took an extra year to build) is absolutely beautiful and will be fantastic to play on.
We began preseason this morning with the two-mile run, the centerpiece of our fitness testing. After the two-mile, we went right into scrimmaging. It was good for everyone to get into the swing of things before we start more specific drills. While today was our first official practice, it didn’t really feel like it as everybody got in by Monday, and some earlier than that. It has become a tradition for players on our team to come up a few days earlier for “pre-preseason”- basically a chance for us to practice a bit together before the pressure of tryouts starts. I came up Saturday afternoon and a group of players had already been here for a few days before that, including a few freshmen.
At this point, we have 36 players trying out for 28 spots, which is the largest group we’ve had in my four years here. This is weighing on some players’ minds as our coaches will have to make some very difficult cuts this fall, including some tough decisions they might not have been forced to make the last few years. The upside to this of course is that our team will be much stronger this year because of the heightened competition for spots. We don’t just have 36 players at training, we have 36 solid players, so everyone who eventually makes the team will be prepared to step in at any time. With so much more competition for spots this year, the whole team will be pushed to a higher level and hopefully it will show on the field.
My name is Jimmy McCumber, and I am a senior goalkeeper on the Vassar Men’s Soccer team. This season, my last for the Brewers, I’ll be blogging about my team for our athletics website. First, a quick introduction of our team: we play in the Liberty League along with Union, Hobart, Hamilton, St. Lawrence, Clarkson, Skidmore, and Rensselaer. This is an extremely tough conference, with no weak teams and no easy games, no matter what the year. Last season was the first winning season of my college career, as we finished 7-5-3 overall. However, we again fell short of a top-four league finish and a spot in the playoffs, and were kept out of postseason play completely by the ECAC selection committee. This year we have a brand-new field complex which (though it took an extra year to build) is absolutely beautiful and will be fantastic to play on.
We began preseason this morning with the two-mile run, the centerpiece of our fitness testing. After the two-mile, we went right into scrimmaging. It was good for everyone to get into the swing of things before we start more specific drills. While today was our first official practice, it didn’t really feel like it as everybody got in by Monday, and some earlier than that. It has become a tradition for players on our team to come up a few days earlier for “pre-preseason”- basically a chance for us to practice a bit together before the pressure of tryouts starts. I came up Saturday afternoon and a group of players had already been here for a few days before that, including a few freshmen.
At this point, we have 36 players trying out for 28 spots, which is the largest group we’ve had in my four years here. This is weighing on some players’ minds as our coaches will have to make some very difficult cuts this fall, including some tough decisions they might not have been forced to make the last few years. The upside to this of course is that our team will be much stronger this year because of the heightened competition for spots. We don’t just have 36 players at training, we have 36 solid players, so everyone who eventually makes the team will be prepared to step in at any time. With so much more competition for spots this year, the whole team will be pushed to a higher level and hopefully it will show on the field.
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